ScreenSaver SCR program mistaken as SCRIPT FILE

[Rstudio]

ScreenSaver executables are mistakenly identified as
"script" files.

An alert happens if I click a ShortCut to any SCR file
or activate any SCR file directly using Explorer.

It doesn't happen when a screensaver is run from the
Display Properties screensaver panel (either by Preview
or through the system-timed screensaver initiation),
or when the screensaver is run from the Start Menu.

Here's the Microsoft AntiSpyware Alert message (where
**** would be replaced with the target SCR basename.

An Unknown Script File
Attempting To Run Requires
Approval

A script file D:\WINDOWS\system32\****.scr
is trying to execute. This file has been frozen from
running pending your approval.

A script file can act as a normal program and can
execute any sort of commands on your computer.

According to your own documentation:

A script is a program written with a scripting
language, such as Visual Basic Script or JavaScript
and can be executed without user interaction. Scripts
can be opened with text editors or word processing
programs, and can be changed. ...

These SCR files are binary executable programs and
are not editable in the normal sense. (They require
a program debugger or source code re-compilation.)

Apparently you are assuming any application file with
the ".SCR" extension is a script.

Clearing the "Remember this action" toggle in the
alert message box (Microsoft AntiSpyware Alert)
doesn't have any apparent effect. AntiSpyware
remembers I clicked "Allow" regardless of whether
or not "remember" was enabled.

 

[Rstudio]

-----Original Message-----

ScreenSaver executables are mistakenly identified as
"script" files.

An alert happens if I click a ShortCut to any SCR file
or activate any SCR file directly using Explorer.

It doesn't happen when a screensaver is run from the
Display Properties screensaver panel (either by Preview
or through the system-timed screensaver initiation),
or when the screensaver is run from the Start Menu.

Here's the Microsoft AntiSpyware Alert message (where
**** would be replaced with the target SCR basename.


According to your own documentation:


These SCR files are binary executable programs and
are not editable in the normal sense. (They require
a program debugger or source code re-compilation.)

Apparently you are assuming any application file with
the ".SCR" extension is a script.

Clearing the "Remember this action" toggle in the
alert message box (Microsoft AntiSpyware Alert)
doesn't have any apparent effect. AntiSpyware
remembers I clicked "Allow" regardless of whether
or not "remember" was enabled.

Whoops. I included that last paragraph by mistake,
and have submitted it as a seperate bug report
(in another message).

 

[Joe Faulhaber[MSFT]]

I repro'ed this, and logged a bug in our system for it.

Thanks for the report!
Joe